Yep. Let's invade some foreign countries and occupy them. Then when we get the extremist fallout following our actions, then let's try to solve it with more draconian actions! I would have had some level of sympathy for for targeting extremist material online (while I would still be against by principle) if UK was a country that had approached the 'War on Terror' in a humane way rather than going to war (and going to war on false premises as well...)

If I were to do this stuff myself, I would probably use Partial Least Squares and build a regression model using the chemical composition as X, and the customer ratings as Y. Or depending on the number of variables in the chemical composition compared to the number of samples (wines), one of the Sparse Partial Least Squares variants might prove to give better predictions (and it would also be interesting to see which variables in X it discards as less important).

I am from a country where all the operators adhere to the CEIR blacklists. Phones are blocked by IMEI, and it is not necessarily trivial to change the IMEI on modern phones. The problem is that most users who have their phone stolen do not bother (or know how) to blacklist. Just reporting the phone stolen does not automatically blacklist it, one has to fill out a separate form for that.
If something was done so that close to all stolen phones are blacklisted, stealing a phone would immediately become a lot less lucrative. At least from my experience in Norway, phones are stolen to resell locally or for the thief to use. Effective blacklisting would make sure that stealing a phone would only be feasible for anyone who would send them to a country where blacklists are not enforced, or someoene with the equipment and knowhow on changing IMEIs. This would pretty much rule out petty thiefs.

Do you have access to DreamSpark via your school? I study IT in Norway, and with my Microsoft DreamSpark login I can get a good bunch of their operating systems for free. If you do, then get a Windows 8 laptop (just make sure Windows 7 compatible drivers are available), then install Windows 7 from DreamSpark.

Another option is to install Start8 from Stardock or similar, if it is the new interface stuff you don't like. I found Windows 8 quite likable with a proper start menu.

For "real" 27" displays that have 2560 x 1440, and not just full-HD, the experience is really good. I first regretted shelling out for a Dell UltraSharp U2711, but after connecting it and seeing the amount of screen real estate I eventually bought another one for my second computer. 2560x1440 eliminates my need for an extra monitor completely, and by using the Windows+(left arrow|right arrow) function in Windows, or Divvy on Mac, I can easily fill the browser on one side and the application I work with on the other.

This could probably be chalked up as being deliberate, judging by the standards of our current power structures. When everything collapses, the rich and powerful will find ways to concentrate and extend their power even further. While not having to starve while the rest of the population does, of course. I mean, it is a reasonable possibility that some current wars are fought to fuel the military industrial complex, so an economic collapse to gain power seems plausible to me.

Is there a good way to encrypt just the home directory in Mac OS X? FileVault can only encrypt the whole drive in Lion. I don't need to be secure from Mossad / CIA or anything, but it would be nice if my personal stuff was decently encrypted in case my MacBook is stolen.

Does anyone have any recommendation for wireless router that can handle a 100 Mbit internet connection that requires PPTP (student accommodation requires PPTP)? I have had no success with Linksys E4200 and D-Link DIR-825, which became bottlenecks. Within a reasonable price range (max $250, just to set some limit).

Their "Mac-ish" trackpads are really horrible. They sort of look like those on Apple laptops, but do not work even half as good. One big problem is that the mouse pointer will move unevenly if you have two fingers on it (if you prefer to click with your thumb for instance). Try having your index finger and your thumb on it, and then move the thumb, and you will see the pointer moving. Later drivers have made the issue less bad, but the pointer will still hove horizontally. Try that with a Mac pad and the pointer will keep still if you move the thumb, which is how it should be to avoid uneven movement.

And also, why the hell do they still insist on having left and right button on the left and right side of the trackpad? It is horrible and erases the border between the two, unless the laptop manufacturer has made a dent in the surface or something. I must say I prefer the Apple solution to this - clicking with two fingers equals right click.

HP was one of those who were early adopters of these trackpads, which ended up with Gizmodo giving them the nickname "HP FrustraPad".

A lot of stuff is listed there. I think Cyanogen provides a pure Android experience, plus some handy extras that I find pure AOSP builds lacking. If you'd rather have Sense, you can find all sorts of supertweaked Sense ROMs on XDA. But heck, go ahead and try CyanogenMod and see if you like it. After rooting, taking full backup of your phone is trivial, so experimenting after that is not that much hassle.